LAKELAND, Fla. – The Saint Leo men's basketball team outlasted Florida Southern in a 99-90 overtime victory Wednesday night on the road. The Coomer brothers, Wade and Jared, paced the offense scoring over 20-points apiece. The victory recorded the Green and Gold's second straight game in the win column, increasing their overall record to 6-8, 3-5 in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC). Meanwhile, the Moccasins' season mark moved to 6-10, 3-5 in the SSC.
 
"It was great having the Coomers back," expressed head coach Lance Randall. "That's probably the understatement of the year."

"Francis Sio got us some big buckets and Frank Webb Jr.'s assists were huge, especially in overtime. Frank's free throws at the end of regulation were clutch. I am very happy for him and proud of him. He also came up big on the glass for us as well." 

Wade Coomer made a statement opening the night draining back-to-back three-pointers to hand Saint Leo the early lead; 6-0. The Green and Gold held the lead for the remainder of the half, recording the largest advantage of nine points three times before the break. Sio Francis hit two three-points midway in the first to propel the Lions by nine twice in the ninth minute.
 
Florida Southern cut the nine points down to two; 34-32 with 6:34 left in the first. Saint Leo answered with six point run started by a Jared Coomer's free throw, followed by a Luke Haasl dunk, and rounded off by a Wade Coomer bucket from downtown. The two-minute hot streak extended the lead to eight; 40-32. The run was enough to outlast the next run by the Mocs. Jared Coomer hit another three-pointer in the last nine seconds to hand Saint Leo a five-point lead at the half; 46-41.

"Florida Southern hit some huge shots. We let them get loose a couple of times, some off of our turnovers and largely off of the Mocs' offensive rebounding. We have to be better blocking out and pursuing the ball." 
 
In the second half, Florida Southern closed the gap but not until the last four minutes of regulation. The Mocs pieced together an 8-0 run to take the lead on the charity stripe at 77-67. Cantia Rahming's fastbreak layup leveled the game at 80 with one minute left on the clock. 11 seconds later, Deandre Campbell punched in a three-pointer. Down to the wire, Rahming slipped by and answered with layup. Down on the other end, Florida Southern added a point on the line to make the game 84-82 with nine seconds left. Francis Sio was fouled and came up clutch. His first free throw went up and in and his second followed suit.
 
Overtime proved to be a breath of fresh air to the Lions. Wade Coomer started the overtime period like he started the game, with back-to-back buckets from beyond the arch. Saint Leo wouldn't look back, reaching a double-digit lead and ending the game with a 99-90 victory.
 
Wade Coomer wrapped up the night with a team-high 27 points going 9-for-15, all three shots were taken from the three-point range. His brother, Jared Coomer, scored 24 points going 9-for-14 from the field, 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and going 4-for-5 at the line. Three other Lions joined the Coomers in scoring double figures. Sio Francis logged a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Teammates Cantia Rahming and Frank Webb Jr. handed in 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Randall concluded, "I'm proud of this group. That was a great win. We've let plenty of these slip away but we found a way to win this one. It was not easy to win at Florida Southern."
 
Saint Leo will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 2:00 p.m. in the Marion Bowman Activities Center. The Lions are set to host the Rollins Tars.  
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo men's basketball, be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.